Who’s up for Hurghada Dive Fest in May 2012?

Two weeks of diving in the Red Sea. Wrecks at Abu Nuhas, Rosalie Moller and maybe a Special wreck for those who want to.

Lot’s of pretty reefs and marine life.

Training is always available any course to any level.

Please contact us for more information or take a look at the Hurghada Dive Fest Website – http://www.hurghadadivefest.com

The course was very enjoyable with exactly the right balance between serious instruction and fun.

Day one was at Simon’s house where we concentrated on theory and unit build up. We were spoilt by Simon’s partner Sharon bringing tea, coffee, sandwiches and biscuits all day.

Day two took us to Capernwray where we completed three dives during which all skills were taught and practiced, practiced and then practiced again.

After kit cleaning, rebuild and gas filling we completed the exam paper back at Simon’s. Once the marks were totalled, Simon cooked up a very tasty meal.

The final day took us to Coniston Water. We did two dives to 40mtrs surrounded by beautiful lakeland scenery. It’s dark at 40mtrs but gin clear and all skills were completed to Simon’s satisfaction.

I would like to say a big thanks to Simon for the course and putting up with me. Thanks also to our safety divers Paul and Adam, Sharon for her hospitality and my buddy for the course Alan.

The rEvo rebreather is a fabulous unit. It dives with great trim straight out of the box. I have actually been trying to think about how to describe it………… the best I can come up with is that it’s a rebreather that is much greater than the sum of its parts.”

S. Dootson

“… I then speak to Mr TW about doing a crossover, we have a long a frank discussion and Simon basically tells me that he doesn’t think that in the past I have gotten the most out of my CCR diving and that he’d like me to do the full MOD1 course – I hasten to add that Simon only charged me the crossover fee but I did the full 5 days, staying at rEvo UK HQ (i.e. Simon’s place).

I actually thought at the time that it was a good idea and it’s borne out to be the best way I could have done it (more later).

Day #1:
So roll on the 20th of June and I meet Hugh (my buddy for the course) at Simon’s, we have a chat, coffee’s and launch into the theory, Simon has an easy style of delivery, we go off at tangents many times but the info is presented in a structured way with the asking of questions always encouraged.
This rolls into the afternoon (quick stop for a sandwich) and then we set to on building the units up (Hugh’s is fresh out of the box). I’ve had mine a couple of weeks, so I’ve had a fiddle but I learn some valuable info during the build up, I also learn that the guy I’ve bought it off has stiffed me, what I thought was an all singing and dancing Shearwater, is in fact just a controller and cell monitor with no OC bailout capability and no trimix software or deco software – not a happy bunny but I’ll deal with that in a separate post, I have my trusty OSTCMk2, so I can run a constant PPO2 profile and plug in bailout gasses as well.
We learn how to use the rEvo dreams, turning them on / off with the correct tap sequences, calibrating and menu options.
Maintenance issues are covered, my DSV doesn’t have the upgrade for the greasing of the barrel, so we strip it down, drill the requisite holes (tense moment) and reassemble, grease it up and check out that smooooooth action, nice!

Note: on day two we cover battery replacement of the dreams having done the solenoid and Shearwater batteries on day one.

We get the unit’s ready to dive for the next day then retire back for more theory, it’s a late finish but fun with it.

Day #2:
After a good night sleep we head off to Capernwray for the confined water dives, so technically max 6m depth, units are on set point of 0.4 with Hugh and I flying them manually at 0.7 at all time: Note – all dives are done on manual until the last day, this instills good discipline in monitoring and maintaining your PPO2, rather than letting the electronics look after it, with the 0.4 parachute if you get things badly wrong!!

Dive 1: 60 minutes, max depth 8.1m: Simon want’s us to use the suit as buoyancy, something I’m not used to on OC – I always use the wing with just enough air in the suit to take off the squeeze, so this feels really alien to me, but I run with it and buy and large I came to be quite comfortable with the idea as the week progressed (cue much wailing from my DIR buddies, sorry).

I’m not going to bore you all with every detail of the dives suffice to say we covered all of the course requirements to the letter with a few added things thrown in to make it fun. Paul has a download on the web site that details all of the skills and requirements of the course, it’s quite comprehensive, so if you want have a look, there’s some interesting articles on Constant Mass Flow and Cell construction / operation as well and these form part of the theory element of the course.

Before every dive we do a full S Drill, with a run down of equipment, test of bailout etc. So we get comfortable on dive one, run through the skills and drills, including a session of trying the breathing in different attitudes to feel the difference in the hydrostatic pressures on the counter lungs. Then we cover the CMF test, checking the rate of flow through the orifice a rest.
Finally we cover the BOOM drill, shut down in 3 seconds, check gauges, rectify problem if possible and gas back on – if not bail.

Dive 2: 76 minutes, max depth 7.7m: After a nice lunch of cheesy chips and suitable surface interval, we’re back in again, we run through the drills and skills and concentrate on keeping the loop at minimum volume, we’re both doing well on this score and this continues through the week, much to Simon’s pleasure. This dive we have some mask off skills to complete, I must admit at this point, I hate taking my mask off, there said it! I can do it but I’m not happy about it – it is however an essential skill, so I just get on with it, we have bailing out and touring round with no mask, bail out on buddies gas with no mask and a controlled ascent and descent with no mask, which I actually found quite comfortable.
We also introduce the three H’s, welcome Mr Hypoxia, Mr Hypercapnia and their best buddy Mr Hyeroxia and the drills associated with each problem, bailing out, dill flushes, open loop etc. Repeat all the drills from dive 1 and finish off with some barrel rolls, I found these very easy and I’m not sure why Paul needs them in the course, but who am I to argue!! Back on the surface we swim in and practice taking off our kit in the water as if we were getting into a rib.

Back to rEvo UK HQ for a strip down and clean of the units, tuck into a slap up meal prepared by our instructor! Not many people can say that on a course!! And then more theory till late.
Big thanks to Paul our safety diver for the day and Jo for surface cover.

Day #3:

Dive 3 – “open Water dives” 71 minutes, max depth 11.4m: , Jo’s back in the water today as our safety diver with Murray joining us as safety cover, we’re into open water dives today! Set point still at 0.4 but flying at 1.0, drop down to 6m bubble check and practice bailout then we basically repeat the skills and drills done to date and go for a swim, we cover a lot of ground (I’ve not finned so much in months!!).

Out for a lunch of cheesy chips (see the pattern here!!) and back in for Dive 4, 98 minutes, max depth 16.4m: same set point as dive 3 drop down to 6m, bubble and bail then an O2 flush to validate the sensors for current limiting, then we go for a tour about, with a few bailout tank swaps as we go, I nearly spit the DSV out laughing as Simon suckers me by handing off two stages at once – both hands full and suddenly negatively buoyant (git).
We then have to complete the 25m no mask swim, I let Hugh go first as I’m fcuked from all the finning! Then it’s my turn, it’s not pleasant and I’m glad when it’s over, after which we bail out and swim off to check our RMV, so we can calculate bail out gas requirements later in the theory / dive planning session.
We do all the drills and skills again, with the added fun of doing the funky chicken, i.e. getting water out of the loop into the counter lung, ascent on CCR with O2 flushing at 6m and 3m then on the surface, finish up with a debrief, then back to HQ for a slap up meal and more theory, we finish late, tired but happy after a good day!

Day #4:

Dive 5, 78minutes, max depth 17.6m, were manually keeping a set point of 1.3 for this dive, S drill on the surface and a bubble & Bail at 6m then we’re off, we cover a lot of ground as before touring around the various attractions, boats, plane, oil rig ontop of a container, Wessex helicopter, we do an SCR drill, swimming around on SCR for 5-10 minutes – It’s quite easy once you get into the rhythm, we do some Frog kick practice (which we’re doing anyway but it’s part of the course requirements) or in my case a crippled frog then we key up for the 15m no breath swim, students hold their bail out reg in front at all times and Simon’s right there is things go badly, so no sweat, but 15m is a long way without gas! We’d done some practicing earlier on in the course on breath holding, so we know theoretically it’s not a problem but theory and practice rarely meet in the real world!
We both successfully complete the swim, then we have a little fun with SMB’s, using them for buoyancy to demonstrate that if you lose your other sources of buoyancy, you always have alternatives, it’s fun (which is the point) as well as being a serious exercise, more practice swapping stages around as we go (yes he got me again – I was expecting it and it was still funny), we shoot SMB’s and ascend with O2 flushes as before.
Debrief and lunch as before and get ready for the next dive.

Dive 6: 112 minutes, max depth 20.4m: S drill, bubble & bail at 6m then we’re off again, we cover a lot of ground as before with some serious buoyancy drills going under the plane wings, doing our best not to stir the silt up, I’m experiencing a moment of sublime control, I am at one with the CCR then Simon hits me with a stuck on dill button drill (twat) needless to say there’s shit everywhere, I bounce off the underside of the wing before I get control back, Ah well back to the drawing board
It’s then time for a fun skill, no mask line laying and recovery, Hugh joins in but I pass (wuss).
We practice out of gas swims breathing from each other’s bailout stages, back onto CCR, then bailout on to OC, check gas pressures, switch to Low set point and computers to OC, we shoot bags and carry out a controlled OC ascent with simulated stops at 9, 6 & 3m then surface, check gas pressures again, so we can measure how much gas we used during the ascent, Hugh’s really good on gas and I chuff through it like there’s no tomorrow, RMV of 25 anyone? (my normal for OC when comfortable is 20).

Thus endeth day 4, back to HQ for another scrumptious meal and the exam!

Plans for tomorrow are up in the air, depends on the weather and Simon won’t make a decision until the morning, we either have an hour’s drive or two dependant on final destination – for those of you not familiar with the UK we have an area called the “Lake District” – yep you’ve guessed we have a large area with lakes! Some of which are diveable, not what you would call interesting dives but the countryside is breath taking (when it’s not raining – which it does a lot).

I digress, we both pass the exam, which is fortunate!! Have a beer or two and it’s off to bed ready for tomorrow.

Last Day (#5),

Up for 7am, breakfast and sort the gear out, then we’re off, final destination is “Conniston” lake, Simon has scouted a spot off the East shore that has good access and an easy entry, the downsides? Conniston is dark and very silty, it’s almost a night dive it’s so dark, which is no biggy for me as I really like night diving.
We get there after losing Jo for a few moments and set about sorting out the units, I think we’re both a bit apprehensive, last 2 dives and everything rests on a successful set of dives, we prep the units and Simon briefs us on todays requirements: flying the units on the electronics fully for the first time.

Dive 7, 51 minutes, max depth 41.3m: S drill with bubble & bail at 6m, O2 flush to validate our sensors for current limiting, we drop down, it’s black and very cold 8 degrees C which is half what it’s been up to now, it’s going to be good practice to try and stay ahead of the electronics on these dives. We carry out the skills and drills we’ve practiced before at shallower depths, we both do quite well – I’m sure I am narked but don’t feel to bothered, we practice getting water out of the loop, then we shoot bags and we’re headed up again trying to stay one step ahead of the solenoid to make life easier, no set point switch to a lower PPO2 as we have to experience the difficulty of maintaining a high set point on ascent and managing the buoyancy difficulties the constant O2 injections create. Again we simulate stops at 9, 6 & 3m with O2 flushes as before, finish dive and back to the vehicles for some lunch and a debrief.

Final dive, 55minutes, max depth 40.7m: Simon quite simply goes over the dive requirements and what he’s expecting, this time we’re going to do a bail out and OC ascent with deco stops and we are running the ascent, the hard news is, screw up the ascent and you’ve failed – so no pressure then

Needless to say I am as focused on this dive as anyone at 40m on air dill can be!
We carry out the S drill, bubble & bail at 6m, drop to depth and change set point, Hugh’s having some difficulties, which turns out later he’s run out of suit inflate, it’s causing him some problems and I think narcosis isn’t helping either, we do drills, I split up with Jo and Hugh goes with Simon, all within easy sight of each other and we bail out and run an OC ascent, I probably over do the communication to Jo (ain’t no way I’m going to fail!) on the ascent but I figure more info is better than non, we exit bang on target and exit back for a debrief.
Final verdict, we both passed (Phew!)

Was it worth it? You bet, I really enjoyed the week, I’m very happy with the rEvo – it’s relatively easy and comfortable to dive, daily maintenance is simple, I’m so happy on CCR now that my OC gear is up for sale!

Would I recommend Simon TW as an instructor? – I can honestly say that I would without a moments hesitation, I enjoyed diving with Simon, he pitches the right level of technical information laced with humour and makes you feel at ease, the final days “fcuk up and you fail” speech illustrates the underlying seriousness of what we’re doing, I always felt tested but was never worried that I was ever in any danger (apart from the inherent dangers of CCR diving of course).
A big big thank you to Paul and Jo our safety divers and Murray our surface support – it was a pleasure sharing the beginning of my rEvo journey with you!
And a big thank you to Hugh, my buddy for the week, safe diving mate!

So, what now? Lots more diving to build up my hours so I can go for a noromix cert, skills I need to practice, just about everything but especially mask off skills on every dive so I become more comfortable, it can be a life saver and the last thing you need is to be freaked out in a bad situation and have your mask knocked off and not be able to deal with it! – I always carry a spare in case you’re wondering

Hope I haven’t bored you too much – I do tend to ramble!!”

Marty C

This is an extract from Marty’s full testimonial which can be seen on Rebreather World by clicking here

Brand new Liquivision X1 for sale. Twin ceramic depth sensors, Multi-Deco software and license key. Comes with new strap and a used VR3 strap that is actually better for use underwater.

Value £1200, for sale at £900 o.v.n.o

*picture for illustration purposes only

For more information please contact us

***SOLD PENDING PAYMENT***

“Did my one to one day with Simon at Capernwray today, well one to three as Simon, Lee, and Paul were involved.
Started with a really thorough run through of the rEvo design and parts, setup and calibration which was best part of 2 hours and very informative and really showed both Simon’s knowledge of the rEvo and his enthusiasm for it. We then went for the first dive staying shallow so that I could get the hang of buoyancy and some experience on the rEvo – surface run through of bail out, then in and practice bailout and mask clear. Then we did a full hours dive, the rEvo is really nice to dive, easy to breathe, comfortable to wear with a harness that is built like the proverbial brick outhouse and it was a really enjoyable dive despite my apprehension and me being new to CCR diving. Buoyancy wasn’t bad and I only crashed into the mud once…
Gas usage for first dive was all of 30bar of O2…
After a hours break and debrief, coffee, etc, we went again and did the bail out skills practice then a slow run down the slope to the bottom, a wander around the plane, oil rig, Podsnap, Murphy, etc, then a slow ascent back to do a 6m and 3m stop. Gas usage was 30bar of O2 and 40bar of dil.
At the end of the day I was knackered but it was well worth it and it has shown me that it is now when I buy a rEvo not if”

“I felt exactly the same way and really did assume I wouldn’t learn anything on my crossover. Then I started to read the standards and talk to PR and the instructor that did my crossover and started to change my mind a little. Then I went and did the crossover and was impressed at how much effort has been put into making it a worthwhile course. I figure if I’m going to drop £6,500 on a rEvo then it’s no great stretch to drop another £500 for 4 days one on one attention from one of the UK’s best instructors.
It’s not for everyone obviously but you can’t deny Paul R’s commitment to keeping his product and standards at a consistently high standard.”

Paul B.

If you do then you will love the trip we are planning for 2012 – The amazing wrecks at Malin Head, Ireland

RMS JUSTICIA, RMS LAURENTIC, EMPIRE HERITAGE, HMS AUDACIOUS, SS DEVONIAN, SS ROSS COMMON AND MULTIPLE OPERATION DEADLIGHT U-BOAT WRECKS.

Experience world class diving in the Malin Head area. You don’t have to be a technical diver as the North Coast of Ireland also offers many recreational dives both scenic and wrecks.

For Example the North side of Rathlin has one of the top undersea drop offs exceeding 200 metres, after swimming through the twin arches at 35 metres and 26 metres you could be lucky enough to have Razor Bills dive bombing you during your decompression stop, especially in the month of June when their young leave their nests.

Dive the Loch Garry on the East side of Rathlin an intact wreck sitting upright in 26 metres with multiple swim through’s sitting on a sandy seabed scattered with scallops.

Not Convinced Yet?…Then Watch This!

Diving Malin Head, Ireland, 2010 from Geoff Davies on Vimeo.

If you would like more information on coming with us on this fantastic trip then please feel free to contact us. No dates have been planned yet as we are just checking out tidal calenders but watch this space for information as it becomes available